Inda Sade: Latkes, Lights and Laughter
For Inda and Solomon Sade, owners of The Blondinit, Chanukah has always been about more than candles and gifts. At home, it’s a time for cooking, laughter, and family moments shared with their daughters, Arielle and Sophie. At their Westport restaurant, that same spirit fills the room, with warm smiles, good food, and a table that feels like home.
The Blondinit’s menu of Israeli soul food brings a taste of Tel Aviv to Connecticut, but during Chanukah, one dish takes center stage: the family’s beloved latkes. “Our recipe comes from decades of tradition in Solomon’s family,” says Inda. “It was always their holiday staple. Every year, we look forward to making them together and sharing them with our guests.”
Lighting candles and frying latkes each of the eight nights remain cherished family rituals. “Those are the moments that mean the most to us,” says, Inda. That same warmth fills The Blondinit, where Israeli cuisine and family tradition come together in a space that welcomes everyone. “We built The Blondinit around the idea that food brings people together. Whether you grew up with these flavors or are tasting them for the first time, we want you to feel like you belong here.”
Imke Lohs: Family and Feuerzangenbowle
Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, the Lohs family keeps their heritage very much alive in Westport. With sons Julius and Beckett, that means speaking German at home, visiting family back in Germany several times a year, and embracing cherished European traditions each December.
“Even though the kids are getting older, we still hold on to little moments from back home,” says Imke. “For instance, we decorate a pinecone wreath with four candles wrapped in velvet bows. Every Sunday you light a candle and on Christmas Eve, the fourth Sunday, you light the last one, and celebrate the onset of Christmas by baking cookies, drinking tea and hot chocolate, and playing board games with family."
Imke, a real estate agent with Compass, and her husband Holger, CEO of Haelssen & Lyon North America Corp., have built a close circle of friends since moving to Westport 12 years ago. Each December, they gather to share Feuerzangenbowle, a traditional German holiday punch that takes 48 hours to prepare. Spices and fruit are steeped in red wine, then served hot as rum is poured over a burning sugar cone. “It warms you from the inside out,” says Imke. “Traditionally, it’s enjoyed outdoors in the cold—with music, singing, and, of course, friends.”
Jen Tooker: Hearts and Hearths
For First Selectwoman Jen Tooker, her husband Mo, and their three children, the holidays are about slowing down and savoring the simple moments at home. “We stay local and really lean into being together,” says Jen. With everyone home, their cozy antique house becomes the hub of the holidays.
The Tookers cut down a fresh tree in Easton, decorate the house, and attend Christmas Eve Mass. Jen bakes an Italian lasagna recipe that’s been passed down for generations from Nana, her paternal grandmother, and the family makes a batch of homemade fudge. Their home, called Nine Hearths, lives up to its name with fires always burning.
“Even though the kids are older now, some traditions never change,” says Jen, “They still wake us up at 7 a.m. on Christmas morning. There is just something magical about starting the day early with everyone under one roof.”
Nikki Williams: All in the Family (and the Mezze)
Nikki Williams’ Lebanese heritage runs deep—woven through generations of family, faith, and food. Her great-grandmother, Amelia, immigrated from Lebanon in 1912, followed by her grandfather Henri in 1968. Her mother is one of six siblings, and Nikki has more than forty cousins on her Lebanese side, so even a “small” family gathering easily tops fifty people.
Growing up, Sundays were spent at her great-grandmother’s home, where laughter, music, and dancing filled the air. “The table overflowed with Lebanese classics—hummus, man’oushe, tabbouleh, kibbeh, labneh, kafta, mujadara, fatayer, grilled meats, and baklava. In Lebanese culture, food is the heart of every celebration, and generosity is a point of pride—we cook as if feeding an army,” says Nikki.
“When my husband, Jay, an only child, first met the family, he met fifty people in one afternoon,” she laughs. “He’s learned about the belly dancers from my high school graduation party, is still mastering the dabke, and has grown to love the timeless voice of Fairuz—always playing somewhere in the background during the holidays.”
Now, Nikki passes those traditions on to her children, Amelia, Zane, and Penelope. Each Thanksgiving, the family travels to Indiana for the large Najem gathering, while Christmas is spent at home in Westport. On Christmas Eve they attend Mass, and on Christmas Day the girls join her in the kitchen to prepare a Lebanese mezze of tabbouleh, hummus, kousa, lemon chicken, and kafta.
For the Williams family, food and family remain inseparable—a living legacy that connects generations and keeps their Lebanese roots beautifully alive.
Heather Waters: Scandi Spirit
Third-generation Swede Dr. Heather Waters, an otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon, continues to embrace her Swedish heritage and deeply values the warmth and simplicity of how her culture celebrates the holidays.
As a child, she remembers celebrating St. Lucia Day, also known as the Festival of Light, where the tradition honors St. Lucy, a Christian martyr who brought hope and sustenance to those in need. “For us, the holidays are full of light—literally,” says Heather. “We would go to church where we would watch the procession led by Lucia, a girl dressed in white with a red sash and a crown with candles on her head and we would sing versions of Sankta Lucia.”
That same sense of warmth and tradition carries into her own family celebrations. Together with her husband, Jared Tomlinson, a partner and executive creative director at New Monster, and their three children, Heather continues another Swedish custom: the Christmas Eve smörgåsbord—a festive spread enjoyed in stages throughout the evening. The meal begins with chilled delicacies like cured salmon, gravlax, and pickled herring, then moves into an array of meats and cheeses, and culminates with comforting warm dishes such as Swedish meatballs and prince sausages. The celebration ends on a sweet note with cookies, cream cakes, and other classic Swedish desserts.
“What makes Swedish customs so special isn’t just the beauty; it is the balance. The glow of Lucia’s candles or the thoughtfully placed smörgåsbord—these traditions embrace the concept of 'lagom.' Not too much, not too little, but just right.”
Gabby Blockhaus: Cozonac & Caroling
Gabby Blockhaus, director of business development and investor relations at JANA Partners, was born in Romania and came to the United States as a child. She now lives in Westport with her husband, Jay, their two daughters, and her mother, Erica, who made the journey from Romania years ago with Gabby and her father.
While Romanian is still spoken in their household, it is during the holidays that their cultural traditions come alive. Each Christmas and Easter, the family spends an entire day baking cozonac, a Romanian version of brioche that’s rich with nuts or poppy seeds and filled with family memories. “It’s a labor of love that takes eight to nine hours,” says Gabby. “We start early in the morning, warming milk scented with lemon and orange peels so the whole house smells divine. The dough rises, rests, and is folded again and again—a slow, meditative process that’s as much about bonding as baking. Some of our best conversations happen in between batches.”
Another favorite tradition is their Romanian-inspired Christmas caroling party, based on the old-world celebration of colindă (caroling). “We invite friends, print out all the lyrics, and sing classic carols—everything from Joy to the World to Silent Night, even Mele Kalikimaka,” says Gabby. “By the end of the night, someone always grabs the karaoke mic for Justin Bieber’s version of Little Drummer Boy.”
As Gabby says one guest once put it: “'This is the most wholesome party I’ve ever been to.' And that is exactly the point," she says, "blending the old traditions with new memories.”
Our tradition: The Wren and Races
My husband, Jonathan, moved here from Dublin 20 years ago, but Irish traditions still thrive in our lives. Our kids, Oliver and Penelope, take pride in being “half Irish” and stay closely connected to family back in Dublin.
We rotate Christmas between both sides of our families, but in Ireland, the celebration stretches beyond December 25. St. Stephen’s Day, the day after Christmas, is one of the most festive. Centuries ago, it was marked by the Wren Boys Parade (Lá an Dreoilín), when villagers in costume went door to door playing music and collecting coins to “chase away the old year.” The wren—the “king of all birds”—symbolized renewal and good luck.
Today, that spirit lives on in lively parades, sing-songs, music sessions, and gatherings across the country. From Dingle to Dublin, fiddles, whistles, and laughter spill into the streets. In Dublin, locals flock to Ireland’s premier racecourse in Leopardstown for The Christmas Festival, to place a few bets on the horses and hope for a lucky win.
When we’re stateside, we keep the Dublin spirit alive—playing traditional Irish songs, decorating with real holly, ivy, and juniper, and pulling Christmas crackers at dinner. The lucky winner claims the tiny surprise inside, a simple reminder of the joy and humor at the heart of every Irish Christmas.